Hi from Rick: Travel as a Political Act
 |
| Travel's best souvenirs fill your head, not your closet. |
Dear Traveler,
For the last 30 years, I've taught people how to travel. I focus mostly on the logistics (as I am while researching in Rome this week): finding the right hotel, avoiding long lines, sampling local delicacies, and catching the train on time. But that's not WHY we travel. We travel to have enlightening experiences, to meet inspirational people, to be stimulated, to learn, and to grow.
Travel has taught me the fun in having my cultural furniture rearranged and my ethnocentric self-assuredness walloped. It has humbled me, enriched my life, and tuned me into a rapidly changing world. And for that, I am thankful.
I've written a new book — Travel as a Political Act — that has given me the chance to share what has made my travels most rewarding, and how my travels have helped shape my worldview and inspired my activism.
This book isn't a preachy political treatise. (At least, I hope it isn't.) Since I'm a travel writer at heart, this book is heavy on travel tales and people-to-people connections. My premise is that thoughtful travel comes with powerful lessons. With this book, I hope to inspire others to travel more purposefully.
In this month's Travel News I've excerpted a chapter on Denmark's culture of socialism from Travel as a Political Act. If it piques your interest, you can buy the book in our online Travel Store for 30% off this month. That's just the start, though. What I'm really hoping for is to have you share your thoughts on what I've written — as well as your own mind-broadening travel experiences — in a special online forum we've set up. It promises to be a lively conversation.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Happy travels,
Rick Steves